Refrigerating apparatus



J. C. GOOSMANN.l

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED IAN. 24. 1'921.

Patented Mar. 7, 1922..

2 snaps-SHEET 2.

' IIIIIIIIIIIIIII'I-l ai "A Jaffa/5 lerating apparatus,

- UNITED STA 'riens rATENT:oFFic1-:.

JUST'US C. GOOSMANN, 0F PEORIA ILLINOIS.

nmmomrme ArPAnATUs To all whom t may concern:

Be it kno-wn that I, J sTUs C. GoosMANN, a citizen of the UnitedStates,residing at Peoria, in the 'county of Peoria and State of Illinois, haveinvented newv andl useful Improvements in Refrigerating -Apparatus7 ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates in general to refrigand more particularly to thecompression type, the present applicationibeng a coitinuation in part ofmy copending application, Serial No'. 127,365 filed October 24-,1916. fY

In the use of refrigerating systems embodying apparatus of thischaracter, it is highly desirable to maintain a substantially uniform,predetermined temperature of the evaporator. or cooling element, whichis either placeddirectly in the room or chamber to be cooled, or as. ismore usually the case.y it islequipped with coils forming part of acirculating system through which brine or other cooling medium iscirculated, to maintain the desired temperature in the fcompartment tobe cooled. l

ln order tofmaintain a substantially predeterminedtemperatureof thecooling element, irrespeotiveof the amount of workbeing done, or inother words, irrespective ot the number of heat units being absorbed andremoved :by Y`the re-frigerating system, it. is desirable that theexpansion valve between i the condenser andthedevaporator possess acertain amount of range or flexibility in its 'ating medi-umo-perationin order that more oreless reirigei1- may be passed throughthe evaporator, and furthermore, since the ,most satisfactory yoperationof the system involves the maintenance of a predetermined pres-` sureratio between the condenser and evaporator sides of the system, one ofthe primary features of my present invention` resides in the provisionof an automatically operated expansion valve whichA is adapted toproduce and maintain a predetermined ratioof pressures between thecondenser and y the evaporator.

. l the requisite amount Assuming that thesysterhfis charged with ofrefrigerating medium such as CO2 for instances-nd that the ,compressoroperates at a uniform speed, the .pressure and temperature 'of therefrigerating medium on the oondenserside of the expansion valve iscontrolled bythe ratev of. cooling and condensation of the refriger-Specication of Letters Patent.

Since there 1s in refrigerating apparatus Patented Mar. '7, 1522.' fApplication lec January 24, 1921. Serial No. 439,371.'I A l of thischaracter an inevitable leakage of the c refrigerating medium from thesystem, which of course, resultsin a decreased pressure, and anineicient operation, my present invention aims to maintain the requisitepressure in` thesystem by automatically supplying additionalrefrigerating medium, to compensate for that lost, whenever the pressurein the systemfalls below a predetermined'point.

While am aware that it has heretofore been `proposed todeliveradditional refrigerating medium into a system. of this character for thepurpose yof compensating for loss by leakage, the supplyingof. thisadditional refrigerating medium of the low or evaporator side of systemsheretofore employed does not remedy `the diiiculty, forthe` reason thatwith a set expansion valve, the pressure on the evaporator side may bebelow` that which is desirable, while at the same time, the pressureonthe high or condenser Side may be greater than that sired. 'Thiscondition may result from an insuicient opening of or through theexipansionvalve, which of course, assuming a constant speed of thecompressor, imbalances the system'so that the pressuretis too hi on thehigh side and too low on the low si e, and this condition is notvimproved in the least by'adding more refrigerating 'mediums on the low'side as has previously been done, but on the contrary, the-difficulty ismagni-` fied some times to the extent that av dangerously high pressureis produced in the con l denser side of the system. -v

Since my present inventio'nembodies an `-automatic control which'maintains at all times 'a predetermined `ratio of pressures between wthe Vlow andthe high' sides4k of the system, it will be. manifest-thatadditional vreifrigerating medium is never admitted the system until thepressure throughout the entire system is below that required forefiicient operation, and when this point is pressure in the whole systemfalls below a predetermined oint, the rovision of an au- .tomaticlcontrolp by which) a predetermined ratio of pressures is at all timesmaintained between the high and low sides of the system; and theprovision of an automatic thermostatically-controlled device by whichl`the temperature and consequently, the resultant pressure of therefrigerating medium in the condenser side are automatically maintainedwithin substantially uniform limits.

y For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of my invention andits mode of operation, I have illustrated on the accompanying drawingsone preferred embodiment thereof, from an inspection of which whenconsidered in, connection with the following description, my inventionand man of its inherentadvantages should be readily understood andappreciated.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic illustration, partially in section, ofa, refrigerating apparatus embodyin my invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudlnal, secional view through the automatic expansionvalve;

Fig. 3 is a similar view through the device which automatically controlsthe temperature of the condenser; and

Fi 4 is a similar view through the valve whic automatically controls theadmission f Aadditional refrigerating medium into a system.

Referring now to the drawin more in detail, and particularly to Fi 1 tereof, the compressor, which may be o any referred construction but isherein illustrate as al single cylinder reciprocatory type, isindicatedby reference character 5. denser, 7 the evaporator or cooling element,andr` 8 a reserve tank of refri rating'me dium under pressure, such forinstance as a drum of commercial 00,.y The compressor, condenser andevaporator are connected in series in a closed circuit, as is customary,by piping, theline leading from the com ressor to the condenser beingindicated by re erence character 9, that from the condemer to theevaporator by 10, and that from the evaporatorbacktothe'ccmpressorby 11.Theconcreased 6 indicates the con-v generally by reference character 17by which .the temperature of the coil 14 is automaticall controlled.

ile any type of controlling element calpable of performlng the desiredfunctions may be employed, I have found that the element shown in Fig. 3on arr enlarged scale is well suited to the requirements of the presentsystem.- This element comprises a lower casln or body 18 provided at oneside with an in et nipple 19 to which the end of the pipe 16 leadingfrom the condenser coil is attached by an ordina coupling nut. The innerend of this nipp e i's closed, as indicated at 21, and. its top andbottom walls are provided with alined openings 22 and 23 respectively,either shaped to provide a valve seat as indicated at 24, or equippedwith a removable valve seat as shown at 25. A stem .the 4stem to seatagainst the seats 24 and 25 respectively. The lower end of the stem 26is guided in a plug 30 through which the valve stem is introduced intoposition, and

its upper end is connected at 29 with a sylphon'31` suspended at itsupperend from a spider 32 extending transversely of the casing23threaded ont-o the upper end of the body 18. The upper end 33 of thecasing is threaded for connection with the delivery pipe 34. The sylphonis of usual construction, adapted to expand` and contract longitudinallyunder the influence of variations in temperature in the surroundingcooling me dium flowing through the casing 26, ami' as will be apparent,expansion of the sylphon moves the valves 27 and 28 away from theirresfpective seats, thus permitting an inow through the cooling coil 14,and contraction of the sylphon closes the valves. vIn order that thesylphon may be continually underthe influence of the cooling medium fromthe coil- 14 irrespective of whether the valves 27 and 28 are open orclosed, the nipple is provided with one or more bleed -the valves 27 and28 are adjusted and set on the stem so that they will close when thesylphon is subjected to water or other cooling medium at. this desiredtemperature. With the'valves in closed position, a small quantity of thecooling `medium. will flow through the passage to influence the sylphonand when the system is put in operation, the increase in temperature ofthe refrigerating medium delivered from-thel compreor /to the condenserwill raise the temperature of the cooling medium delivered from the.coil

\ with the result that the sylphon will expand,

thus opening the valves and permitting an increased How of coolingmedium through the coil to reduce the temperature of the condenser. Thegreater the temperature in the condenser, the more the valves will beopen and the greater'the flow of cooling meand consequently,

the lpipe line is delivered to the evaporator or coohng elerelatively toits ment 7 through an automatically controlledexpansion valve 37, thestructure of which `will be later explained. The evaporator may.

be of any preferred construction, but I have shown, for purposes ofillustration one of j the drum type equippedl witha. pressure gauge. 38and provided with a coil 39 which is included in a brine circulatingsystem through which the brine or other cooling medium circulates,absorbing heat from the articles or compartment to becooled and givingup its heat in the coil -39t0 the surrounding rerigerating medium whichhas been delivered through the expansion valve This expansion valve,shown in detailinl Fig. 2 comprises a body 41 equipped with flangesadapted to be coupled in the pipe line 10, a-.diaphragm casting 42, anda onnet 43. The valve itself, indicated by 44, is adapted to cooperatewith a valve seat 45 formed on the body 41. The passage 46 communicateswith the pipe line 10 'and with the chamber 47 surrounding the valve 44vwhile discharge from the valve is delivered through passage drum.Communication between -the passages 46 and 48 is) controlled, as will beapparent, by vertical movement of the lvalve seat 45.

The chamber 47,. within which the valve 44 is disposed, is closed .at4its upper end by a diaphragm 49 of relatively small diameter.

48 into the evaporator.

The vdiaphragm casting 42 being countersunk on its lower surface toprovide theupper portion 51 of the chamber for the diaphragm 49, thediaphragm is clamped at its periphery. between the top of the body 41and the bottom of the casting 42, and is centrall secured to the hollowvalve rod 52 of t e valve 44. The upper portion 51- of the diaphragmchamber communicates through the hollow casting 42 around the valve stem52l with the lower portion 53 of a diaphragm. chamber in which isdisposed a diaphragm 54, the area of which is three times thatV of thediaphragm 49. The bottom of the bonnet 43 is countersunk to provide the.upper portion 55 of the chamber for the diaphragm 54. This diaphragm isclamped at its periphery between the top of casting 42 and the bottom ofthe bonnet 43, and yis also centrally secured to the.

valve rodI 52. A passage 56 extends centrally through the valve'to apoint above diaphragm 54 and thence laterally into the upper portion 55lof the chamber above the vdiaphragm 54. l l

of the evaporator 7 The low Y pressure communicates directly with theupper side of diaphragm 54 at all times while the high pressure of thecondenser is in constant communication with the lower -side of the'lsmall diaphragm 49. The space between the exterionof valve rod 52 'andthe surrounding, communicates with the atmosphere casting through a port57. The relative areas of .di'aphragms 54 and 49 being approximatelythree to one and valve 44 being free to move in response toa dilerentialof pressures exerted upon diaphragms 49 and 54, the pressure in conduit46 will always be three times the pressure in conduit 48. This relativepressure may be varied by adjusting the tension of a spring 58interposed between the top of valve rod 52 and a sliding block. 59mounted for vertical adjust- 'ment 1n the bonnet 'by means of an`adjustbe manifest, therefore, that with the parts .proportioned asshown ing rod 60. It will and described, a predetermined ratio? ofpressures will always be maintained between vthe condenser andtheevaporator since when the condenser pressure exceeds three times theevaporator plus the resistance to movement to, valve 44 offered by thespring 58, the `valve will be open and pressure will flow to theevaporator until the predetermined ratio of pressures has beenre-established. The circulation of brine or other cooling medium throughthe coil 39 may be controlled and shut o when desired by a hand valve 61interposed inthe circulating line.4

'As more or less leakage of the refrigerattion of Aan apparatus of' thismade provision` for replenishing the loss Y leading by automaticallydelivering to the system a quantity of refrigerating/medium whenever thepressure in the system falls below a predetermined point. While theauxiliary supply may be connectedto the system at any point, I prefer toconnect it to the low pressure side So that more of the medium containedunder pressure in the supply drum may be used than would be the casewere it attached to the high pressure side of the system. A supply ofrefrigerating medium such as C0 which is equipped with the usual shutoivalve 62, thedrum being e uipped with a connection or head 63 adapte toa pipe 64, which. in turn by a T is connected 65 with the lowl pressureline I1l from the evaporator to the compressor. In order to prevent therefrigerating medium from backingup from the line into the container 8in case of leakage or in the .event that the pressure inthe con@ taiershould drop' below that in the line, I prefer tointerpose in the pipe 64a check valve 66, and for purposes of etermining the amount of pressurein the container, the pipe 64 is preferably equipped with a pressuregauge 67.

, a` pressure valve "lation with the .nozzle of the spring 78,

and shutting oil' flow of refrigerating.

further flow thereby The How of refrigerating medium .from the containerinto the line 11 is controlled by .68, shown in detail in Fig. 4. Thisvalve comprises a casing, the intake end 69 of which is connected to thepipe 64 just above the elbow, and the delivery side is formed by yacontinuation of the pipej 64 attached to the upper side of the caslng. Astationary nozzle 7l communicates with the intake side) of the casin andthis nozzle is closed by ,a seat or. gas yoke 73 and normally urged intoseated reby an expansion spring 74. The upper end 75 of the yoke isconnected by a screw bolt 76 with a diaphra m"77 and a sprin '78, thetension of whic may be regulated by`a hand wheel 79, normally tends toforce the seatv 72'away from the nozzle to open the valve. When thepressure in the chamber 81 beneath the diaphragm is sufliciently great,thei diaphragm is flexed upwardly against the force thereby closing' thevalve medium from the supply container 8 to the Shouldy the pressure inthe line 11 the .valve is set, the combined pressure of the mediumacting through lthe nozzle' against the seat 72 and the action of thesprin 78 open the valve, permitting a flow' of re rig erating mediumfrom the container 8 `into the line 11 until the pressure therein hasbeen raised to the predetermined point under which the valve will againbe seated, and

shut oil".

Since the pressures ,on the high and low 2 1s contained in the drum 8,

to be attached et 72, carried in a the thermostatically controlleddevice 17,

and since the pressure in the whole system is maintained upto apredetermined point by the automatic replenishmentv from the container8, the apparatus is therefore en- Vtirely automatic in its operation,and not only maintains a predetermined refrigerating temperature, but?the system also possesses automatic flexibility, enabling it to takecare of increased work in accordance with the demands. Furthermore, thes automatic balancing of the pressures on the high and low sides-of thesystem obviates any danger of a dangerous accumulation of pressure onthehigh side which is liable to occur in a system which provides forautomatic replenishment but not for'automatic balancing of the pres,

sures.- v

It is believed that my invention, its mode of operation, and many of itsinherent advantages will be understood from the foregoing withoutfurther description, and while have shown and described a preferredembodiment of the invention, it should be understood that the details ofconstruction which have been shown and described for purposes ofillustration merely are capable of considerable modification andvariation without departing from the essence of the invention as definedin the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a refrigerating apparatus, the combination of a compressor, acondenser and an evaporator connected in series in a closed circuit, andmeans for automatically maintaining a predetermined pressure in both thecondenser and evaporator sides of said cirbinationwith a compressor, acondenser and an evaporator connected in series in a closed circuit, ofal supply of refrigerating medium under pressure, and pressurecontrolledmeans `for maintaining a predetermined pressure (in the completecircuit, said means including a device for automatically delivering tosaid circuit from said supply a quantity of refrigeratingl medium uponre' duction of pressure in said circuit below a predetermined point andmeans for maintaining a predetermined pressure ratio between the highand low sides of the circuit 8. In a refrigerating-lapparatus, thecombination witha refrigeratin system comprising a compressor,'a con,enser and an evaporator connected in series, of means for maintaining apredetermined ratio between the pressures in the condenser andevaporator sides ofsaid circuit, and means for automatically supplying arefrigerating medium 'thereby to the system to compensate for leakageand maintain a predetermined pressure in said entire system.

4.*In a refrigerating apparatus, the combination of a compressor,acondenser and an evaporator connected in series, and means interposedbetween said condenser and said` evaporator for automaticallymaintaining a predetermined ratio between the pressures in saidcondenser and in said evaporator.

5. In a refrigerating apparatus, the Icombination of a condenser, anevaporator, a connection between the same, and means for controlling theiowof a refrigerating medium through said connection so as toautomatically maintain a predetermined ratio between the pressure insaid condenser and the pressure in said evaporator.

6. In a refrigerating apparatus, bination of a compressor, a condenser,an evaporator, means for maintaining a predetermined pressure ratiobetween the evaporator and condenser, and means for automaticallyInaintaining a predetermined tempera ture in said condenser.

7. In a refrigerating system, Jcomprising a compressor, a condenser andan evaporator connected in series, the combination of means forautomatically controlling the temperature of the condenser, means forlautomatically maintaimng a predetermined ratio of ing medium pressuresbetween the condenser andthe evaporator, and means for automaticallymaintaining a predetermined pressure inl` said system.

8. In a refrigerating apparatus, the combination of a compressor, acondenser, an evaporator, means connecting said elements in series,means interposed between the condenser and evaporator for maintaining apredetermined ratio of pressures between saidelements,pressure-controlled means for automatically replenishing theapparatus with a refrigerating med -ture-controlled means forautomatically controlling the temperature of` the refrigeratin saidapparatus.

9. In a refrigerating apparatus, the combination with a compressor, acondenser, an evaporator requiring a 'ven pressure, and pipmg connectingsaid e ements in series, of a `source of supply of refrigeratin mediumat high pressure, a conduit provi ing communicati'onl between the sourceof supplyl and the pipe connecting said evaporator and compressor, and apressureregulated valve controlling passage of medium through theconduit, said valve being set to open only when the pressure between itand said pipe fallsbelow that required in the evaporator.

JUsTUs o. GoosMANN.

lum, and tempera-

